The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023

Book cover of A Fever In The Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them

Mark Bartholomew Why did I love this book?

Some writers make the unbelievable believable and the impersonal personal. Timothy Egan, like Stacy Schiff and David Grann, has this talent.

This book describes how one evil flimflam artist took over the Ku Klux Klan, the government of an entire state, and threatened to take over the White House before finally being brought down by a jury of his peers. It’s a real page turner, it’s all true, and Egan makes you feel like you were in the rooms where it all happened.

By Timothy Egan,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked A Fever In The Heartland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"With narrative elan, Egan gives us a riveting saga of how a predatory con man became one of the most powerful people in 1920s America, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, with a plan to rule the country—and how a grisly murder of a woman brought him down. Compelling and chillingly resonant with our own time." —Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile

“Riveting…Egan is a brilliant researcher and lucid writer.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology

Mark Bartholomew Why did I love this book?

This book skillfully pulls the curtain back on a series of startling advances into understanding the physiology of thought.

I study the intersection of neuroscience and law, and I still learned a lot from Farahany’s book. But Farahany is not just providing an expose. She thoughtfully weighs the costs and benefits of neuroscience’s infiltration into new territories, analyzing which new medical techniques and commercial devices are worth the intrusion and which should be barred from entering the most private space we have left: our minds.

By Nita A. Farahany,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Battle for Your Brain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new dawn of brain tracking and hacking is coming. Will you be prepared for what comes next?

Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions.

Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the “universal controller” for…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of The Golden Gate

Mark Bartholomew Why did I love this book?

I love hard-boiled detective stories—the snappy dialogue, the hard-to-discern motives, the glamorous yet seedy settings in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Chua’s first work of fiction (she’s a renowned law professor and memoirist) has all those essential elements along with a long-neglected, much-needed update for the complex racial politics of the day. It all is a lot of fun and keeps you wondering whodunnit. This is the perfect vacation read.

By Amy Chua,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Golden Gate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Amy Chua's debut novel, The Golden Gate, is a sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the turbulent crosswinds of a world at war and a society about to undergo massive change.

In Berkeley, California, in 1944, Homicide Detective Al Sullivan has just left the swanky Claremont Hotel after a drink in the bar when a presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms upstairs. A rich industrialist with enemies among the anarchist factions on the far left, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of groups. But…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Intellectual Property and the Brain: How Neuroscience Will Reshape Legal Protection for Creations of the Mind

By Mark Bartholomew,

Book cover of Intellectual Property and the Brain: How Neuroscience Will Reshape Legal Protection for Creations of the Mind

What is my book about?

Intellectual Property and the Brain reveals how tools meant to improve our understanding of human behavior inevitably shape the balance of power between artists and copyists, businesses and consumers. Although legal scholars have begun to explore the implications of neuroscientific research for criminal law, the field has yet to assess the potential of such research for intellectual property law – a legal regime governing over one-third of the US economy. With a host of real-life examples of art, design, and advertising, this first-of-a-kind book charts a path forward for legal actors seeking reforms that will unlock artistic innovation, elevate economic productivity, and promote consumer welfare.

Book cover of A Fever In The Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Book cover of The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology
Book cover of The Golden Gate

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